


Heart-shaped and coated with bitter and sweet bitty strawberry chocolate

by Fyeahsparklythings (orphan_account)



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: BananaValentine2019, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Romance, The Pocky Game, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Valentine’s Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 13:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17808821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Fyeahsparklythings
Summary: It’s Valentines Day and Eiji tries to find the perfect gift for Ash to cheer him up. He finds a box of pocky instead and initiates the fun game with him.





	Heart-shaped and coated with bitter and sweet bitty strawberry chocolate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SailingOnANotebook](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailingOnANotebook/gifts).



> Hi Sailing! I was your partner for this event. I’m sorry that it took me so long, I wasn’t feeling so well but here I am now! 
> 
> I hope you like your gift. I had to rewrite the beginning because I didn’t like it haha ^^;  
> Anyway I’m not entirely happy with this but I hope it suffices as a gift. Please enjoy reading!
> 
> (Additional spell and grammar check were made on May 9)

It was still cold in New York even though it was mid-February. Eiji had dressed warmly and hid most of his face behind a red scarf. He wasn’t used to the colder weather and Ash once told him that it wouldn’t get warm until mid-March or later. It usually wasn’t this cold in Japan. With his hands in the pockets of his green jacket, he walked through the busy streets. He saw couples holding hands and people who received flowers or small gifts. Valentines seemed to be popular in America. Eiji wondered if Ash ever celebrated this small holiday.

 

He stopped walking as he thought more about it. Ash didn’t really have people in his life who cared enough for him to do that. His brother might have done it in the past, but he was dead now. Was Ash lonely? Eiji felt sad the more he thought about it. He wanted Ash to feel loved and cared for. He wanted to see Ash smiling and feeling happy.

 

The thoughts made Eiji blush slightly, but he was determined to put a smile on Ash’s face. In Japan, people would give their significant other chocolate as a gift. Although Eiji was in America right now, he thought that chocolate would still be an appropriate gift. He didn’t know what else Ash liked or if he preferred flowers instead.

 

With this goal in mind, he resumed walking and looked for a shop that sold chocolate, but not any kind of chocolate. It had to be something special, maybe not the chocolate itself but what was symbolized by it. The taste, color or shape-- anything that would fit into their small moments of intimacy. Things that only the two of them shared. Something ordinary was fine too, Eiji thought.

 

It took him a while until he reached a shop that he liked. Other places were just selling common brands and even though he liked the handmade chocolate, Eiji felt that they wouldn’t really fit Ash.

 

A little bell chimed when Eiji entered. He saw a few people chatting and giggling quietly, but it wasn’t as crowded as he thought it would. He looked around for a while and although he found some delicious brands, it still wasn't what he was looking for. None of them were special or one of a kind. It could be that Eiji set the bar a little too high, but he only wanted the best for his friend.

 

“Maybe I should just go back…” Eiji mumbled to himself after spending about thirty minutes in the shop without being able to find anything.

 

“Are you looking for something?” someone suddenly asked and Eiji gasped in surprise. He hadn’t noticed the shop clerk, who stood next to him.

 

“Ah, well… I wanted to give a friend a special gift. But nothing here really catches my attention,” Eiji complained. “Can you maybe help me out here?”

 

“Hmm,” the shop clerk hummed and studied Eiji for a bit. Then she smiled and told Eiji to follow him.

 

She led Eiji to an aisle with shelves that were stacked with foreign sweets. How come he didn’t notice this section before? He was sure he went through the whole shop and didn’t see any of this.

 

“How about this?” she asked. “My favorites are pocky. Especially the strawberry one!”

 

“You have pocky here?” Eiji asked excitedly. This was the perfect gift! He could teach Ash how to play it with him.

 

“Yes! Here, I’ll show you,” the clerk chuckled and pointed to the shelf next to him.

 

“Thank you! I’ll take a look,” Eiji thanked her and looked at the different flavors after she left him alone.

 

They had some rare ones like Almond Crush, Rainbow, Pocky Trinity and Otona no Milk. Eiji was definitely impressed! But with so many flavors to choose from, he still didn’t know which one Ash preferred. He was about to turn away when a box fell from the shelf. Eiji picked it up and noticed that these were also special flavored pocky sticks.

 

“ _Heart shaped Pocky coated with bitter and sweet bitty strawberry chocolate_ …” Eiji read aloud.

 

Bitter and sweet? Heart shaped? Ash would probably make fun of him if he bought those. Eiji wanted to put them back into the shelf, but something stopped him from doing so. He couldn’t see this flavor anywhere. Was it the last one?

 

It was one of a kind. It was unique and special, just like Ash. Although it was somewhat cheesy, Eiji thought that this would actually make a good gift. He hummed and went to the cash register, paid for the gift and made his way back to the apartment he and Ash shared. For some reason, Eiji felt really excited! He couldn’t wait to try them out and surprise his friend.

 

Finally, he reached their apartment and went inside. He noticed Ash sitting on the couch near the windows in the living room and it took Eiji’s breath away. His friend was dressed in brown pants with a checkered pattern, a deep red turtleneck shirt that looked unfairly good on his small frame, a matching beret that stood out from his strikingly blond hair and he wore round-framed glasses. Eiji thought that Ash looked almost illegally beautiful.

 

He didn’t see Eiji immediately, too focused on the book in his hands, but when he did he smiled softly and greeted Eiji with a quiet “Welcome home, big brother.”

 

It took Eiji a while to stop staring at Ash, but then he smiled, plopped down on the couch next to Ash and replied with “I’m home.”

 

Ash closed the book he was reading and put it on the coffee table. “So big brother, were you out shopping for Valentines, too?”

 

“I did buy someone a gift,” Eiji admitted sheepishly.

 

“Oh _really_? So big brother, have you bought them handmade chocolate? Or flowers? Which one is it?” Ash asked, smirking when he saw the little tote bag Eiji carried with him.

 

“It’s chocolate, but not handmade,” Eiji replied. “Don’t you want to know who it is?”

 

“Hmm… I do, but I guess you’d end up telling me anyway,” Ash grinned wolfishly. “It’s for me, isn’t it? Otherwise, you wouldn’t make such a big secret out of it.”

 

“I forgot how smart you are,” Eiji huffed because of the ruined surprise, but he wasn’t mad at his friend and showed him what he bought.

 

“Pocky?” Ash wondered. “Are they like Mikado sticks?”

 

“They’re basically the same because Mikado is manufactured under a license in Europe. Mikado is usually milk chocolate and Pocky is dark chocolate though. I didn’t know what you preferred but I also didn’t think you’re the kind of person who’s overly fond of sweets,” Eiji admitted.

 

“You’re right, I don’t really like sweet things. Though there _are_ exceptions,” Ash winked which caused Eiji to blush slightly.

 

“A-anyway, I wanted to ask… do you know how to play the pocky game?” Eiji asked awkwardly and tried not to look directly into Ash’s jade-green eyes.

 

“There’s a pocky game?” Ash asked and seemed to be really interested.

 

“Yeah, you hold the stick at one end with your mouth and I’ll hold onto the other. The goal is to reach the middle without breaking the pocky. If you pull away, you lose” Eiji explained and turned slightly red again.

 

Ash chuckled at that. “Why don’t you just ask for a kiss?” he asked teasingly.

 

“That’s- that’s not what I’m asking for!” Eiji retorted sheepishly and made Ash laugh again.

 

“Fine, fine, let’s play your game,” Ash smiled and took the pocky box into his hand. “Heart-shaped? Really, Eiji?”

 

“Shut up!” Eiji groaned. “Just start already.”

 

Ash grinned and put a stick with the chocolate free end into his mouth. Eiji moved a bit closer, taking the other end into his mouth. His heart was pounding loud in his ears and he wondered if Ash could hear it.

 

Memories of the kiss when Ash was kept in prison suddenly resurfaced in Eiji’s mind. He wasn’t close to Ash back then, but he had to admit that kissing Ash felt _nice_. Right even. He remembered the way Ash held his face, how soft his hands felt against his skin. He was so gentle.

 

“Are you going to move closer or not?” Ash asked and mumbled slightly because of the stick between his teeth. Eiji snapped out of his daydreams and moved his mouth slightly towards the middle.

 

Ash moved closer as well and Eiji noticed that Ash had taken his glasses off at some point. He stared into the beautiful gems that were Ash’s eyes and almost got lost in the moment. He moved closer once again and their mouths almost met - that’s when Ash decided to be the jerk that he was, decided to break the stick and moved away.

 

“Delicious,” he said as he licked his lips and stood up.

 

Eiji was completely thrown off for a moment. What just happened? He planned this so perfectly but Ash had to ruin it.

 

“Really, Ash?” Eiji grumbled in frustration.

 

“What? Did you really expect me to kiss you?” Ash laughed and ruffled Eiji’s hair, who batted his hands away and pouted.

 

He did. He wanted Ash to kiss him, but he knew Ash wasn't comfortable with everything.

 

“Ah well, it’s just a game after all,” Eiji said instead and tried to hide that he felt slightly disappointed.

 

But Ash couldn’t be fooled. It seemed as if his jade green eyes looked straight into his soul. The guarded expression made Eiji feel slightly nervous.

 

”Ash? Why are you staring at me like that?” Eiji wanted to know and squirmed slightly under his gaze.

 

Ash picked the pocky box up and pulled a stick out of it. He looked at it for a while before he put the box down and wordlessly walked to Eiji.

 

”I want to play again,” Ash said and gave the stick to Eiji.

 

”Again? Alright,” Eiji smiled and put the stick between his teeth.

 

Ash sat down opposite to him and leaned closer to put the stick between his teeth as well. When Eiji moved closer, Ash held his hand against Eiji’s cheek and caressed it softly with his thumb just like he did in jail.

 

It caused Eiji to blush slightly, but he didn't dare to look away. Ash moved closer again until there was only a small space between their mouths. Eiji titled his head and Ash mirrored his action.

 

This time Ash didn’t pull away. Eiji felt soft lips meeting his own and he melted into the kiss, just like the chocolate melted between their mouths. He suddenly felt Ash cradling his head gently and Eiji couldn't help but hold onto Ash. The blond stiffened slightly but then he relaxed and pulled away when they were both out of breath.

 

Eiji was a pure mess now. His heart was racing, he felt as if his entire body was on fire, but there was also this soft feeling in his heart that made him feel light and happy.

 

”Next time you can just ask for a kiss, big brother,” Ash winked and Eiji laughed.

 

”Did you enjoy your gift?” the Japanese wanted to know.

 

”I did. It was good,” Ash replied.

 

”Just ’good’? Eiji asked again but held still when Ash’s arms suddenly wrapped around his waist.

 

”No. It was perfect,” Ash replied and pushed Eiji back onto the couch until he was lying on top of him.

 

”Ash?” Eiji asked in surprise and moved slightly until he was in a more comfortable position.

 

“Can we stay like this for a while?” Ash asked with his head buried in Eiji’s chest.

 

Eiji smiled at that and stroked Ash’s hair. “Consider it as your second Valentine’s Day gift.”

 

They said nothing after that, but Eiji didn’t mind. This felt nice too and Ash’s weight reminded him that this was real.  

 

He closed his eyes and listened to Ash’s breath, feeling comfortable and warm.


End file.
